The Cup of Calabria – As this episode of Father Brown begins, Cardinal Papillon (Colin McFarlane) visits Father Brown (Mark Williams). Papillon tells him that this information cannot be made public and the police cannot be involved. Then, he mentions the Cup of Calabria. It is one of the Vatican’s most treasured possessions but it’s been stolen. Hercule Flambeau (John Light) may be able to help. Father Brown considers himself to be Flambeau’s spiritual adviser. Papillon recommends that Flambeau help him retrieve it. Isabel Devine (Claudie Blakley) tells Father Brown about bell ringing. A drunk Flambeau arrives moments later. Father Brown rushes to hide him from Isabel who is given the rest of the day off. Once she leaves, Flambeau questions why he’s there. Father Brown tells him about Father Vincent Lazarus who was recently excommunicated. Vincent stole the Cup of Calabria and killed a guard on his way out.
Flambeau is surprised the Vatican wants his help. He also points out that Brown took his confession one day and invited him to break the seventh commandment the next. Father Brown doesn’t want to steer him from his path of redemption. He admits it’s a personal request from His Holiness. Flambeau refuses to help the pope. Father Brown insists his first priority will always be Flambeau’s soul and he believes it’s in pain. Flambeau believes he’d be a liability on the case. Father Brown says he needs him because he isn’t sure he can do it without him. They want the cup back in a week since it’s going to be used for a mass for the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Flambeau agrees to help Brown one last time. Brenda Palmer (Ruby-May Martinwood) catches them together. Brown tries to keep her quiet about it. Flambeau interrupts to say it’s out of his hands. In private, he tells Father Brown that a private auction was hastily arranged two days ago at The Cedarmont Hotel.
It’s taking place this afternoon. Dame Lydia Adams (Christina Cole) has a letter about Calabria. When Brown and Flambeau run into her, Father Brown admits she seems vaguely familiar. Isabel returns after forgetting her purse. She finds evidence on the floor just before Brenda enters. Ronnie Larkin (Danny Szam) asks to see their invitations. Flambeau says he left his at home and Father Brown is there to authenticate the item. Dame Adams asks for an authentication. Father Brown is given permission to check it. He confirms it is real. Father Brown asks Adams why she wants to possess it so badly. Charles Radler (James Sheldon) asks if the cup possesses the power of healing. One man is confident its power is in no doubt. Brenda tries to cover for Flambeau and Father Brown. She lets it slip that Flambeau was there. Isabel gets upset that she knows because Edgar could find out and call off the wedding. Brenda instructs her to keep it to herself. The bidding begins for the cup.
The man who appears ill ends up winning the cup, but he collapses and dies moments later. Dame Adams suggests it’s God’s will. Isabel speaks to Goodfellow (John Burton) and Edgar Sullivan (Tom Chambers) at the jail. Edgar is buried in paperwork so Isabel agrees they can go out tomorrow. She notices a wanted sketch of Flambeau on the wall. Isabel yells out that Flambeau is there. Father Brown tells the others they should phone the police. Ronnie says he’ll call the client to see what to do with the cup. Flambeau unlocks the window before leaving the room. The client agrees to sell Dame Adams the cup but only at the final bidding price. Ronnie asks her to hurry up and make up her mind because he’ll have to leave before the cops arrive. He gives her the seller’s account details. Dame Adams calls Giles to tell him what to do. When they enter the room, Flambeau removes the cloth and realizes the cup is missing.
He accuses Ronnie of covering it to make the switch. Father Brown notices the other bidder is gone. Ronnie manages to get away. Father Brown says one of those men must be Lazarus. Flambeau takes a car and goes after Ronnie with Father Brown. Flambeau loses them when a tractor gets in the way. Brenda is grilled by Edgar. Ronnie is shot by the other man and thrown from the car. Father Brown checks on him. Ronnie blames Lazarus and says he shot him because he let him into the auction. Ronnie says he went to Helmey Wood before he passes away. Father Brown begins blaming himself for Ronnie’s death, but Flambeau argues they didn’t shoot the man. He thinks about his father while Brown prays for him. Brown and Flambeau search the woods for Lazarus. Flambeau insists he is not some sort of suicidal maniac. Father Brown mentions he said he was a liability and he knows he’s still grieving for his father. Flambeau insists he’s fine. They find a house in the woods. Inside, Father Brown finds paperwork with information about Dame Lydia Adams.
He says she’s a significant donor to the Vatican. They visit her to say she might’ve been the target of a confidence trick. Father Brown and Flambeau believe they knew Lydia would take the bait and bid 70,000 pounds. She says her husband and daughter were killed in a car crash last year. Since then, there hasn’t been a single day she hasn’t wanted to end it all. Lydia admits she’d never do it despite the thoughts. She hoped drinking from the cup would finally heal her suffering. Lydia confessed to Father Lazarus. She suggests she’s not worthy of the cup’s gifts. Father Brown asks how she’d know that unless she has already drunk from it. Lydia has the cup. She claims she found it on her doorstep when she got back from the auction. Father Brown believes it was always his intention for Lydia to have it. He suggests Lazarus only stole it because they showed up. Father Brown suggests he wanted Lydia to get caught so the Vatican could never accept a donation from her again.
He tells her that he’s at St. Mary’s and his door is always open. Brown and Flambeau have to flee with the cup. Father Lazarus confronts them with a gun outside. Flambeau hits him and tells Brown that the mission is over. He shoots Edgar’s tire before driving away. Father Brown tells them that Lazarus is a murderer. Father Brown doesn’t say anything about the artifact. Flambeau gets upset and nearly crashes into a tree. Father Brown calls Papillon to tell him about the cup. He tells him that Father Lazarus is in custody at the Kembleford police station. Brown mentions that Lazarus quoted from the King James Bible and not their Douay-Rheims. Papillon interrupts and tells Brown to guard the cup until he arrives. Father Brown finds Isabel crying. Brenda joins them seconds later. Brown tells them about the Cup of Calabria which was made from the true cross. Some people believe it has miraculous powers. Father Brown says it will be returning to the Vatican.
He wants them to join him at St. Mary’s. Papillon arrives at the station to speak to Goodfellow about Lazarus. He enters and says he does not know the man in the cell. Father Brown says a prayer over the Cup. The real Lazarus approaches him. He pulls out the knife of Andronicus and forces them to sit down. Father Brown realizes he stole the cup while pretending to be dead. Lazarus says he’s always admired Father Brown because they’re both rebels. He says he’s using his intellect to execute a moral crusade. He says the church is rotten and it needs gutting from the inside out. Lazarus devoted his life to doing just that. He admits he’s not there to take the cup. He accuses Father Brown of foiling his plan and it won’t go unpunished. Brenda and Isabel eventually attack him. They flee and leave Father Brown with Lazarus. Edgar speaks to Goodfellow about the investigation. Goodfellow tells him about Papillon’s visit. They run out of the station.
Lazarus tries to burn the cup, but Flambeau returns and puts out the fire. Edgar and Goodfellow arrive in time to catch Flambeau and Lazarus. Papillon claims the Chief Inspector is arresting the wrong man. Lazarus tries to stab Father Brown only to stab Flambeau in the stomach. Brenda adds water to the cup. Father Brown tells Papillon they owe him this much before giving him a drink from the cup. Flambeau says he came back to tell Father Brown he was right about him. Father Brown reads his late rites. Later, he visits Lazarus at the jail. Lazarus says it’s a trick he learned from a yogi in India many years ago. Father Brown wants to know about the years he spent in the seminary and the years he worked his way into the Vatican. Brown asks why he hates the church that much. Lazarus says that’s a story for another time. He says he’s sorry about Flambeau because it was meant to be Father Brown. Lazarus is glad he didn’t kill him since it’s so hard to find a worthy adversary.
He claims the game has already begun. Next, Father Brown is given a few minutes with Flambeau who is in the hospital. They discuss whether the cup may have saved Flambeau’s life. Papillon arrives with extradition papers and tells Goodfellow to uncuff Flambeau. He tells Flambeau he’ll be taken into custody temporarily and he’ll be free to go. The Vatican has a proposition for him. Father Lazarus stole many things from the church. The Vatican has founded the Reclamations Department which will retrieve the items in question. They want Flambeau to help recover these items. Flambeau asks when he can start. Edgar arrives and finds out that Flambeau is already gone.
Father Brown Review
This episode of Father Brown was okay but impacted by some of the same issues. Some viewers will like it more because it has Flambeau, but it still has many issues. For starters, it’s pretty bad when Brenda becomes more likable than Isabel and that was the case in this episode.
It’s really annoying that Isabel Devine had to be so uptight and eager to tell Edgar about Flambeau being around. If Brenda could keep her mouth shut, Isabel could’ve too. The writers just needed to find a way to inject these characters into the episode even though it wasn’t necessary.
It was also dumb that Isabel and Brenda attacked Lazarus and fled only to leave Father Brown to possibly die. The writers have really done a great job of making these characters so easy to dislike. Furthermore, the episode didn’t offer anything new. It felt like the last few Flambeau episodes. We had the death scare, but anyone with any common sense will have known that Flambeau would be okay.
We also had the silliness of Flambeau entering the church without Lazarus realizing it. Why are viewers supposed to care about the Vatican and its endless wealth in the first place? Ultimately, this was an okay episode that still had a lot of room for improvement. It scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Father Brown can be found here.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.